Thai food at home and in under 30 minutes! This Thai-inspired red curry with chicken is the ultimate comfort meal that comes together in one pot and you won’t even be able to tell you made it yourself instead of takeout. That’s how good it tastes!
The Preparation
There are a few steps to prepare for making this dish before hitting the stove. The best way to stay organized and clean in the kitchen is to prepare what can be done in advance rather than as you’re cooking. It will be a much more smooth process! Here is everything:
- rinse and chop the green beans
- clean and chop red bell pepper
- chop cilantro
- chop basil
- thinly slice chicken thighs
- combine cornstarch and water to make the slurry
Cooking the Curry
Now that everything is prepped, we can start cooking the curry. Start by heating a deep pan over medium heat. Add a little bit of coconut, avocado, or olive oil to the pan and add garlic paste and ginger paste. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes and then add the red curry paste. Cook down for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, red pepper flakes, salt, fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar. Mix together and bring to a slow and rolling boil. Then add the chicken, red bell peppers, and green beans. Cover and let it cook for about 11 to 12 minutes until the veggies are softened and the chicken is fully cooked.
Remove the lid and add the basil, cilantro, and cornstarch slurry. Mix together just until the curry is a little more thickened.
Take off the heat and serve with cooked jasmine rice to enjoy!
Variations to Try!
There are so many different ways you can switch up this recipe! You can change the protein used, get creative with the veggies, or even use an entirely different curry paste.
First up, let’s discuss protein. Chicken is my favorite choice of protein always. It’s always what I get at Thai restaurants when I order Penang Curry. Some other options you can go for are shrimp, thinly sliced steak, or even tofu to make it vegetarian!
Moving on to the veggies, I love green beans and red bell peppers. Here is a list of other vegetables commonly added you can opt for:
- zucchini
- onion
- carrots
- bamboo shoots
- baby corn
- eggplant
- snap peas
- mushrooms
Finally, let’s talk curry! There’s red curry which is what we’re using in this recipe and then there is also yellow and green curry. I love all of them but they do have different flavor profiles. First off, the color indicates the color of the chilis used to make the paste. Yellow curry has a more warm flavor since it is more heavy with turmeric. Red is more heavily spiced which is why I love it. The flavors and colors are so bright and bold. Finally, there is green curry which not only has green chilis but also cilantro and lots of lime so the flavor is more infused with fresh herbs.
Here are some other subtle variations you can try too. If you like it more sweet, you can add some more brown sugar. If you like it spicier, add some red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, or even some chopped Thai chilis.
Now most authentic Thai recipes will call for Thai basil in the recipe which just has a more bold flavor than regular basil. If you cannot find Thai basil at a local Asian market, just use plain basil!
If you want to make this recipe more lighter, use low-fat canned coconut milk instead of full-fat.
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Thai Red Curry with Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into thin pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 cup red curry paste
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 13- ounce can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt, to taste
- 1 whole red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup green beans, chopped
- 2 tablespoons chopped Thai basil
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- To a pan over medium heat, add the oil, ginger, garlic, and red curry paste. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, lime juice, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt. Mix together and bring to a boil.
- Add the chicken and cook for about 8 minutes or until fully cooked through.
- Add the red bell pepper and green beans and cook for 4 to 5 more minutes just until softened a bit.
- Finish off with the basil, cilantro, and the cornstarch slurry. Mix together and the curry will start to thicken up a bit.
- Take off the heat and enjoy it with rice!
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